Congrats, Matt and Lauren!

This past weekend, Dave and I, along with my parents and siblings, celebrated with Matt and Lauren Guziejka at their wedding. We had a blast and we were all so thrilled to be able to share their amazing day. Thanks to Beth and Katie Larocque for babysitting all three kids so that we could enoy the wedding while our kids were in good hands.

Before the wedding, Mairead worked hard on a special Father's Day project- she personalized some t-shirts for her Daddy and her Grampy. She is SO serious when she is drawing- I can see the little wheels in her mind spinning a mile a minute!

The boys are getting so big-they are about 13lbs now. Although, I saw a 6wk old baby yesterday who was bigger than my little guys, but they are definitely catching up. They should be 2 1/2 mos instead of 3 1/2, so I think they are doing great!

Ben

Jack

The happy couple! Congratulations, Matt and Lauren! We had a blast!

Happy Father's Day!

I am sorry to disappoint, but I don't have any new pictures to upload. My camera battery died and needs to re-charge before I can do that. But, I didn't want Father's Day to pass unnoticed!

First, happy Father's Day to Dave from me and from our kids. Since the day I found out I was pregnant with Mairead, Dave has been nothing short of amazing in terms of the love and support he has given me. From the second she was born, he has been smitten with her, and she loves her daddy to pieces. Our first week of parenthood was not like most new parents' first week- we were devastated by her stroke. Dave was amazing- taking care of me as much as of her. I married him because I knew that he would help me to deal with whatever challenges came our way, and he did not disappoint me when I needed him most. We've come a long way since then, and he has continued to impress me with his devotion to her. When she is all grown up, I will think of their nightly routine of snuggling in Daddy's chair with her special bear and an episode of Miss Spider. A father couldn't love his daughter more than he loves her.

Now, Dave and I have two more amazing kids to love, and Dave has already been such an incredible Dad to our boys, too. The first month of their lives was so hard on us, but Dave's support for me and love for them made it easier on all of us. Late night trips to the hospital for feedings, patience with the boys when they were struggling to eat just a half an ounce, and patience with me when I was so frustrated that I couldn't bring home my babies- he took it all in stride and never waivered in putting his children first. He is an amazing dad and we are all so lucky to have him. Happy Father's Day, Dave.

Happy Father's Day to my own dad, too, of course! My dad has shown me how to be a truly good and generous person. He has shown me how to put my kids before myself, and how to love doing that. He has taught me more than he will ever know, and I admire him so much. I have him and my mom to thank for the person that I am, and I am so lucky that my children have such a special Grampy!

Happy Father's Day to all of you dads!

Jack and Ben's Baptism

On Sunday, Jack David Hickok and Benjamin Brian Hickok were baptized at the Immaculat Conception Church, where Dave and I were married. Father Sannella performed the ceremony as he did Mairead's baptism and our wedding. When I called him to schedule the christening, he asked, "Didn't we just do one of those?" I told him we had boys this time and he said, "well, one of them should be named Nicholas (his name) by now." He has performed a lot of sacraments for us in the past 2 1/2 years!

Jen and Mike were godparents to Jack, and Katie and Steve were to Ben. Father did a very nice job with the ceremony, and we were so happy that so many of our family members could be there. Thanks to Dave's family for making the trip all the way from New York.

This is the only picture of Mairead in this dress while it was clean. More to follow on that.

Parents and godparents.

NY family

Lowell family

Grandma Dorothy and the boys.

How cute is this coat and hat set? Jen gave it to Mairead the day before the christening- good thing, it just keeps raining here! Mairead LOVED the church. There is a huge aisle you can run up and down, and your voice echos really well in there. She was very good during the ceremony, especially since she had her crayons.

Katie made these adorable (and delicious) cakes for the boys- so cute!

Mairead found this tray of desserts on a coffee table. We didn't say anything to her and just let her sample a few. She was very quiet about it- she was probably wondering when someone was going to tell her not to stick her fingers in the pastries!

The pink stains on her dress are from the piece of sidewalk chalk that she secretly took with her for her nap.

I LOVE this picture of Jen and Jack. Brian did a great job taking all of the pictures- thanks, Brian!

Steve and his godson, Ben.

Ben relaxing before the ceremony.

Jack before the ceremony.

Thanks to everyone who was a part of a special day for our family. I do have more pictures and will post a slideshow on the blog when I have a chance.

Hey.... Show...

First, let me just show you what I found when I went in to check on my two sleeping babies... three sleeping babies! They were all snuggled up together- it was actually pretty cute!


As for the title of the post- Mairead kept saying, "Hey... Show...," while she was in the tub last night. I couldn't figure out why she was saying that since 'show' means Miss Spider on TV, and she was in the bath, which she loves. Only when she touched her hands to her head did I realize that she was saying, "Head, shoulders," as in, head, shoulders, knees and toes. We have sung it to her a few times lately, and it seems that she is learning to sing it back! So cute!

In another cute story- this morning, I was on the phone with Mairead's Day Care provider, Ms. Pat. A new baby has just come into the daycare, and this has Mairead very confused. She talks to the baby, Katie, while Katie is in her bouncy seat, and says, "baby, baby." Then, she runs to the swing, points to it, and says to Ms. Pat, "baby? Baby?" Apparently, she thinks that ALL babies come in twos, and she can't figure out where the other one is! How funny is that?

We are having so much fun with her right now. And, she is so stylish- here she is modeling a tin bucket as a hat. She insisted on wearing it... and once she's made up her mind about something, there is no talking to her. Hmmmm.... I wonder where she gets that???

Picture Overload

I have been shirking my blog responsibilities lately, so I owe you a picture-heavy post. Believe it or not, the boys were three months old on Saturday, and Mairead is now just about two months shy of turning 2! All three kids are doing great and are growing like weeds. Mairead is a wonderful big sister and the boys are so much fun to watch. Mairead is saying new words and trying new things every day, including working on numbers and letters. So far, she says and recognizes ABCD, and her favorite numbers are 5 and 6. When she is counting things, she starts with 5, 6, and may throw in a 2 here and there. So funny!

These are the boys' three month pictures. There are more in the slideshow to the right. My mom bought those blue hats when they were newborns- they are just now starting to fit! In an effort to remember who is who, I always try to put Jack on the left and Ben on the right when I pose them for pictures.

Jack looks like my brother in this one!


How stinkin' cute are they? I know- I am biased, but c'mon! So cute!

Ben at three months

Jack at three months

Mairead wearing a bowl as a hat. She also has the TV remote because she knows that if the Red Sox are on, this magic button can turn it into Miss Spider or Blue's Clues. Don't worry- we'll make her a fan soon! She picks up the remote and brings it to us saying, "show, show." Too smart for her own good... too smart for us, really!

Jen and Mike took us to the Strawberry Festival in Windham, NH on Saturday. FYI- Mairead does NOT like shuttlebuses. She had the biggest meltdown I have ever seen her have. She was terrified and cried and screamed the whole way to the festival. It was about 7-8 minutes, but it was the longest 7-8 minutes of those other passengers' lives. I felt so bad for Mairead- she couldn't understand why we were in this small van with these strangers, and she wasn't in her carseat. Luckily, she was in a much better mood when Jen took her to see firetrucks!

These are just a few pictures from our daily activities. I like this one because I am so impressed with how strong they are to hold their heads up like that! And, they have recently started looking and smiling at each other-- they have noticed that there is someone there to play with!

This cool toy belongs to Connor Estee- thanks for letting us borrow it!

Ben loves to talk to the animals that hang down from the toy. OH- and he rolled over this weekend! He did it once and didn't seem that impressed by the whole thing. Jack keeps doing it because he is nosy. Ben is content pretty much wherever and however you put him down. On his belly? Great. On his back? That's good, too. Jack has to see everything and so he rolls more. It's so funny how distinct their personalities are!

Jack, getting ready to roll!

Mairead is playing with the boys- she really loves them. If she gets up from a nap and doesn't see them, she asks, "babies? Babies?" We have to show her where they are and then we get a big smile from her. She loves to check on them!

Hope you enjoy the pictures- thanks for checking in!

Wii had a fun weekend

This past weekend, Jen and Mike brought their Wii over to my parents' house so that we could play with it after dinner. Mairead was intrigued by the graphics, of course. Please forgive her disheveled appearance- she had just had a bath.

My dad was trying it out using the Wii fit platform. Jen was the coach.

Mairead figured out that the platform had something to do with the tv, so she headed over to check it out.

In this picture, she is looking over her shoulder at the tv to see what is happening.

Then, she and Special Bear had it figured out and they were ready to play!

How funny is that? She is at an all time high in terms of being cute. Yesterday, Ben was in the playpen and he was crying while I was changing Jack. I walked in to pick up Ben and Mairead was leaning over the playpen saying, "Shhh... shhhh." When she saw me, she looked up and me and said, "Baby cry." Like I had better do something... she is so funny lately! We are enjoying her so much and she is such a great big sister. Her brothers are lucky to have her!

All Smiles

The boys have been smiling a lot more lately and it is just so cute. It's hard to get them to do it in pictures, though. Whenever they see the camera, they tend to get very confused or serious looks on their faces. I was able to get a few shots today- mostly on video.

This is Ben with a half-smile.


Do you know who this next one is?

It's Mairead! She was about 2 1/2 months in this picture- the same (chronological) age the boys are now. When the boys were born, I thought they looked nothing like their big sister. As they get a little bigger, though, I am seeing much more of a resemblance. When the boys smile, I completely see Mairead in their expressions. Am I imagining that or do you think they look alike in these pictures?

The boys have been staying awake for longer periods of time, lately, and they hang out on the floor batting at toys (or each other) and staring out the window at the sunshine. They love it when you talk to them. I also think they are starting to realize that the other one is there. In these videos, Jack is looking at Ben pretty curiously.

They had their two month check-up last week and they are both doing great. Ben was 10lbs 10oz and Jack was 10lbs 3 oz, though Ben feels much heavier. Ben is now in the 15th percentile and Jack is in the 12th. Not too bad since they were in the 5th and 3rd at their 1 month visit. If we measured them according to their adjusted age (which would be just over a month old), they would be around the 60th percentile. Either way, they are growing well. The pediatrician says that by about 12 months they should be 'caught up' physically. Hopefully they will continue to meet all of their developmental milestones as well. Right now, they are right where a two month old should be. They are so much fun right now- we are so lucky to have these great kids!

This video is a couple of weeks old, but it shows one of Mairead's latest milestones- eating with utensils. We really have not worked on this too much- she prefers to eat with her hands. And hey, only a kid can get away with that, so why not? She is not even two! It's hard to remember that she is still a baby- she is so big, and we now have two smaller babies, so she seems so grown up! She is saying new words every day and surprising us all the time.

The other day I was driving to Lowell and we were stopped at a red light. Mairead likes the car to keep moving. So when we stopped, I hear this little voice from the back say, "Set... GO!" She kept saying it until the car moved. How cute!

Thanks for checking in with us- I'll do my best to post more often. With our house on the market now, it's getting harder to find free time (like I had any before). If you are interested in seeing the listing, or know someone who would like to buy a house in Weymouth, it is http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/210-Roosevelt-Rd_Weymouth_MA_02188_1109236987